The Lebanese army said troops have arrested members of a terrorist group allegedly involved in recent bombings in northern Lebanon. The official statement said several people from a "terrorist cell" were arrested for their involvement in the Aug. 13 and Sept. 29 bombings in the port city of Tripoli.
According to AFP, a security official said three Palestinians were among those arrested. The statement said an explosives belt in their possession was confiscated. It added troops were still pursuing Abdel-Ghani Jawhar, a leading member of the cell.
On its part, As-Safir newspaper reported on Monday initial investigations have revealed that the cell was preparing an attack on a Lebanese army bus on the Beirut-Tripoli highway and the headquarters of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) in Beirut's Ashrafiyeh district.
Four soldiers and three civilians were killed as an explosion ripped through a military bus in Tripoli on Sept. 29. A similar attack on Aug. 13 killed 14 people, including nine soldiers and a child. The bomb attacks were aimed at avenging the army's offensive against Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, As-Safir reported.
© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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